Greece early parliamentary elections 2023: ODIHR election assessment mission final report

The 2023 early parliamentary elections in Greece took place in a competitive and pluralistic environment, and fundamental freedoms were respected. Voters were provided with ample information to make an informed choice. While some technical aspects could be improved, the election was effectively administered and election management bodies enjoyed a high level of public trust. Issues related to transparency and accountability of political party and campaign financing, candidacy rights and criminalization of insult and defamation remain to be addressed, as noted in prior ODIHR recommendations.

These are some of the main conclusions of the final report on the 21 May elections published today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The report offers 21 recommendations to improve the conduct of elections and to support efforts to bring them in line with OSCE commitments, as well as other international obligations and standards for democratic elections.

Key recommendations include:

• To adjust for the changes in population in each constituency to ensure that they are equal in size, in line with international good practice;

• Undertaking efforts to make the independent participation of all voters possible, including through alternative voting methods;

• Reviewing political parties’ internal policies to promote women’s participation as candidates and give them prominence in the party’s campaign;

• Requiring financial reports are made public in a timely, comprehensive and easy-to-understand manner, comparable with interim reporting on campaign finance before election day;

• Replacing criminal provisions for defamation and insult with proportional civil remedies.

ODIHR deployed an Election Assessment Mission for these elections from 8 to 25 May 2023.  All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to follow up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.